


Snowed In

by callantry



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, Fluff, Holidays, Levi's Birthday (Shingeki no Kyojin), Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28534626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callantry/pseuds/callantry
Summary: This is a modern AU where Levi is a lab manager at the university where Hanji is a PhD candidate.Hanji attempts to head home for the holidays, but due to a blizzard, their flight is cancelled. Who's still in town? Levi, of course.
Relationships: Levi & Hange Zoë, Levi/Hange Zoë
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	Snowed In

Levi’s phone rang. He reached out a hand, feeling around on the nightstand until he felt his phone. The sun wasn’t even up yet. For a split second he thought about muting the call without even looking at it. It was the first weekend of the holiday break, his first day to sleep in. The semester had concluded. It was the first weekend he wouldn’t have to think about anyone being in the Biological Sciences building, or if any of the labs might run out of reagents, or if a grad student would somehow meddle with the order of the chemical stockroom. Taking inventory had been the last thing he’d done yesterday before leaving. He was supposed to be set. At least for a week.

Hadn’t he set his phone to Do Not Disturb? Not that it mattered now. Levi glanced at the caller ID. _Four-eyes_. Shit. Were they really in their lab at this hour?

“What do you need?” he asked. “I already changed your card access to the stockroom.”

“Oh my god, you actually answered,” Hanji said. They sounded out of breath. “What? I’m not in lab.”

“Then why—“

“I’m at the airport,” they said. “My flight’s been cancelled due to the snowstorm. I was, um, wondering if you could come pick me up? If the roads aren’t too bad.”

Levi sighed. It was probably still snowing. “Flights are grounded, and you think road conditions might still be drivable?”

“If you can’t, I’ll figure something else out,” Hanji said. “I just— everyone else has left for the holidays. Sorry. I can find a different way home. Sorry I woke you up.”

“I’ll come get you,” Levi said.

“No, you don’t have to—“

“Four-eyes,” Levi said. “I’ve lived here my whole life. I know how to drive in a blizzard.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking for a moment. “Let me see how bad it’s snowing. Then I can give you an estimate of when I can be there.”

Levi allowed himself one cup of black tea, hoping the plows were out already. Hanji had managed to make it to the airport. He shook his head at the thought. That would have been hours ago. Plenty of time for snowfall. Once he finished his tea, he set out to dig out his car, hoping the cold would wake him up.

The falling snow began to lessen on the way to the airport. It never stopped completely, and the drive was slow-going, but Levi didn’t hate it. Driving in a blizzard demanded an elevated focus, and Levi was a certain sort of comfortable in these driving conditions. The roads weren’t icy yet.

“Thank you,” Hanji said when they climbed into his car. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s going to be a long drive back,” Levi said.

“I don’t care,” Hanji said. “Just happy not to be stuck in the airport.”

It took Levi a few minutes of focused driving to realize that Hanji had fallen quiet after that. He glanced over at them. Their head was slumped, and they began to snore quietly. “Damn four-eyes,” he muttered. “That’s what I should be doing right now.” The rest of the drive passed peacefully. Levi was careful to avoid any possible drifting so that he wouldn’t disturb Hanji.

When he finally parked, Hanji mumbled something.

“You awake, four-eyes?” he asked.

No answer.

Levi cut the engine. “Oi,” he said. “Wake up. It’s going to get cold in here.” He put a hand on their upper arm and tugged gently.

“Wha—“ Hanji straightened up, groggy. “Oh. Sorry. Guess the whole morning wiped me out.” They rubbed their eyes, looking out the windshield. “Where are we?”

“My apartment,” Levi said. “You can stay until the storm blows over.”

“You sure?” Hanji said.

Levi nodded. “Come on. Before it gets any colder.”

In his apartment, Levi brought out pillows and a blanket, setting them on the couch. “If you want to nap again,” he said.

Hanji smiled, still a little embarrassed. “I checked the weather,” they said. “There’s a winter storm warning all day.”

Levi glanced out the window at the still falling snow. “Might as well get comfortable then.”

The day passed quietly. Hanji slept for another few hours. Levi tidied quietly as they napped, and when he was finished with that, he made more tea. It was creeping towards noon, and he had forgotten all about eating breakfast. He looked towards his living room, and saw the faint rising and falling of Hanji’s chest. They probably hadn’t eaten either. Levi glanced through his pantry and his fridge, noting what could contribute to a suitable brunch.

Hanji awoke to the sound of oil sizzling on a frying pan. They sat up, looking in the direction of the kitchen. Levi stood in front of the stove, his back to them. Hanji stretched, still not quite used to the idea of being at Levi’s apartment. Though they were used to being in contact with Levi, as they worked in one of the more demanding labs of the university, they didn’t have a good idea of what life looked like for Levi outside of work.

Wandering over to the stove, Hanji glanced over Levi’s shoulder. “Your lunches never look half as interesting as this.”

Levi didn’t look away from the pan, which held an assortment of chopped vegetables. “You just wake up?”

“Mhm.”

“Do you monitor what I eat?”

Hanji shrugged. “You made me start eating with you. I notice patterns. I’m a scientist.”

“I did not make you start eating with me, four-eyes,” Levi said. “You would eat in lab. That’s a safety violation. I just told you to eat in a lounge.”

“I never ate in lab,” Hanji maintained, as they always did.

“It was evident,” Levi said.

“Evident?” Hanji echoed.

“Your trash cans,” Levi said. “They always had food wrappers and shit. Chip bags. Sandwich wrappers with lettuce.”

“You check the trash?”

“Easiest way to tell if people eat in their labs,” Levi said. “They get rid of any remnants, but they’re usually lazy.”

“You’re weird, you know that?” Hanji said.

“I’ve been managing these labs for years,” Levi said.

“So that’s why you made me start eating with you.”

“I didn’t—“ Levi sighed. He turned to face Hanji. “Are you hungry, or what?”

“I’m hungry,” Hanji said.

“Then let me finish this,” Levi said.

“Okay,” Hanji said. “I’ll go sit over here.” They took a seat at the dining table, where they watched Levi from afar.

“You don’t seem like a picky eater,” Levi said.

It wasn’t a question, but Hanji answered him anyway. “I’m not,” they said. When Levi didn’t respond, Hanji asked, “Do you have plans for the holidays at all?”

“No,” Levi said.

“You don’t see your family?” they asked. “You said you lived here your whole life, so wouldn’t they be near—“

“I don’t have any family,” Levi said. He kept his body angled towards the stove, so Hanji couldn’t see his expression. “I never had a dad, and my mom died when I was young.”

“Oh.” Hanji’s innocent questions felt like a misstep now. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t really like the holidays,” Levi said. “Just a reminder that I’m getting older, and how little changes from year to year. Just a matter of getting through them.”

“Getting older?” Hanji said. “Is that— when’s your birthday?”

Levi swore to himself. For some reason— the lack of sleep, maybe— he was being very candid today. Then again, Hanji wasn’t running their mouth about an experiment, or an exciting journal paper they’d stumbled across. “It’s… Christmas,” he said.

“Levi!” Hanji’s hand slammed down on the table.

He looked back towards them. “Don’t damage my furniture.”

Hanji ignored that comment. “I would hate the holidays too,” they said.

Levi blinked, startled by the intensity of their gaze. “It’s fine,” he muttered.

“Are you alone?” Hanji asked. “Every year?”

Levi only nodded before turning his attention back to what he was cooking. Hanji watched him, trying to figure out what to do with this new information.

When Levi served brunch— omelets, breakfast sausages, with a side of sliced strawberries and grapes— Hanji reached out and briefly grabbed his wrist. “You don’t have to do all of this,” they said. “I mean, thank you, but you don’t have to.”

Levi shrugged. “I don’t mind,” he said. “Besides, what am I going to do, let you crash at my place and not feed you?”

Hanji smiled sheepishly. “Right,” they said.

Levi returned to the kitchen to pour tea for both of them. Setting a cup in front of Hanji, he said, “I know you prefer coffee, but I only have black tea here.”

“That’s fine,” Hanji said. Just as they were about to ask, Levi set the sugar in front of them. “How’d you know?”

“You drink sweet coffee,” Levi said. He finally took a seat beside them at the dining table.

“You’re observant,” Hanji said, regarding him.

Levi sipped his tea. “Eat up,” he said, nodding towards Hanji’s plate. “Before it gets cold.”

Hanji shook their head, but started eating anyway. They were used to sharing quiet meals with Levi in the department lounge closest to the chemical stockroom. These meals sometimes went by in silence. Other times, if Hanji were in the middle of an experiment, they’d tell Levi about the experiment they were running, usually with the whiteboard in the lounge. Whenever this happened, Levi would listen patiently for several minutes before reminding them that lunch was a break from work, and that they should eat. He usually followed up with some sort of question about their experiments to convey that he had been paying attention.

But now there was no experiment, nor a whiteboard, and Hanji didn’t know what to do with themself. In their quiet panic, they focused on eating for as long as they could.

Levi eventually broke the silence. “Are you going to try to get your flight rescheduled?”

Hanji glanced up at him, their mouth full of strawberries. “Um.” They chewed quickly before attempting to speak properly. “I don’t know. The airline gave me a voucher. But I’m not sure if I would be able to get a flight before Christmas.”

“I see,” Levi said.

“I might not,” Hanji said.

Levi frowned in surprise. “Why not?”

“Holiday travel is just so hectic,” Hanji said. “Today was such a headache. I haven’t missed a holiday in years, and sure, I’ll be sad, but it won’t be so bad.”

“It won’t?” Levi said.

Hanji bought some time by sipping their tea. “It won’t," they said, "because I’m going to celebrate your birthday with you."

Levi regarded them, a wary look in his eyes. “Oh?”

“Please let me,” Hanji said, holding his gaze.

Levi stared back at them, thinking. After some silence, he said, “Okay.”

Hanji’s face broke into a grin. “Yes!”

“One rule,” Levi said quickly. “No surprises.”

To his surprise, Hanji relented immediately. “Fine,” they said. “But you have to answer every question I ask you about yourself.” They got up from the table and ran to their luggage. “I’ll make a document.”

“Four-eyes, I didn’t agree to that,” Levi said.

Hanji pulled their laptop out of their backpack. “I can alway surprise you instead.”

Levi shook his head as Hanji returned to the table and opened their computer. “Whatever,” he muttered. More clearly he said, “If the document is more than two pages long, I will stop answering.”

Hanji looked up at him, their brown eyes wide with excitement. “Deal,” they said.


End file.
